Machine for making cans



June 21,1938. SEBELL 2,121,236

MACHINE FOR MAKING CANS Filed Aug. 29, 1936 I s I v g v H l nvenTon. 2 i Hurry Sebell ATTys.

Patented June 21, 1938 ATENT oFFicE 2,121,236 MACHINE FOR MAKING CANS Harry Sebell, Boston, Mass, assignor of one-half to Arthur H. Parker, Lexington, Mass.

Application August 29, 1936, Serial No. 98,478

2 Claims.

Some cans are made with a body section to which the can bottom is secured and a neck section which is formed with a closure-receiving opening and which is secured to the upper end of the body section either by means of a doublelock seam or by a crimping operation followed by a soldering operation. The machines used for seaming or crimping the neck section to the body section usually have a chuck member insertable into the can body and forming a backing for the body and neck section while the seaming roll or the crimping roll, as the case may be, is performing its operation.

During the seaming or crimping operation the seaming roll or crimping rollis' applying considerable lateral pressure against the can, and one object of my present invention is to provide a novel manner of supporting the chuck so as to enable it to resist such lateral pressure without yielding.

In order to give an understanding of the invention, I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a seaming machine embodying my inventi-on;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the seaming machine on a smaller scale showing the chuck in retracted position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View showing the invention as applied to a chuck for a crimping machine.

As stated above, the present improvements are capable of use in either a seaming machine designed for forming the double-lock seam by which the neck section and body section of a can are united, or a crimping machine by which the neck section and body section of a can can be crimped together preparatory to a soldering operation. In Fig. 1, wherein the invention is shown as applied to a can seaming machine, there is shown a partially-formed can of the type illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 48,477, filed November 6, 1935, and which comprises the body section I and the conicalshaped neck section 2 which is provided with a discharge opening 3 of reduced size. The body section I is formed with an outwardly-extending seaming flange 4 and the neck section 2 is provided with a mating seaming flange 5. The uniting of the neck section 2 to the body section I consists in rolling the mating flanges 4 and 5 into a double-lock seam as illustrated in said copending application Serial No. 48,477, filed November 6, 1935. This rolling of the seaming flanges 4 and 5 into the double-lock seam is accomplished through the medium of a chuck 6 adapted tofit within the body section I and neck section 2 of the can, and a seaming roll I which rolls around the mating flanges and through which radial inward pressure is applied to the flanges for rolling them into the double-lock seam.

The chuck 6 is shown as having a cylindrical body portion 8 to fit within the can body and the conical neck portion 9 to fit within the conical neck section 2. This chuck is shown as secured to a shaft I I! supported in suitable bearings ll, said shaft being constructed to have an axial movement through the bearings as well as a rotary movement therein. The shaft Ill may be rotated by any suitable means (not shown) and as it rotates the seaming roll I is pressed against the mating flanges to perform the seaming operation as usual in machines of this type.

During the rolling of the mating flanges 4 and 5 into the double-lock scam the seaming roll is applying considerable pressure laterally against the seaming flanges, and in order to steady the upper end of the chuck and to enable it to resist such lateral pressure, I provide a bearing or supporting member I2 which is provided with an extension I3 adapted to extend through the opening 3 in the neck section and to be received in a recess I4 with which the conical portion 9 of the chuck is provided. The bearing member I2 is shown as rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing I5 which prevents any lateral movement of the bearing member I2 during the seam-forming operation. An advantage of the construction herein shown wherein the steady rest or supporting bearing I2 extends through the discharge opening of the can and has direct engagement with the chuck 6 is that no part of the steady rest engages the exterior of the neck section of the can and, therefore, there is nothing to mar or injure the exterior surface of the neck section of the can during the seaming operation.

I have stated above that the shaft I0 is capable of moving axially in the bearing I I as well as rotating therein. In using the device the shaft III will be moved axially to separate the chuck member from the bearing member I2, as shown in full lines Fig. 2, sufficiently to enable the assembled body section I and neck section 2 of the can to be placed over the chuck member,

this being done before the can bottom is attached to the body section. The shaft in and chuck 8 are then moved axially toward the bearing member 12 until the extension l3 of the bearing member passes through the discharge opening 3 of the neck section and into the recess M as shown in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines, Fig. 2. This will bring the seaming flanges 4 and 5 into position to be acted upon by the seaming roll I and the seaming operation is then performed. As the lateral pressure is applied to the seaming flanges through the seaming roll I, the bearing member I2 steadies the upper end of the chuck member and prevents it from giving or yielding laterally due to the pressure of the seaming roll against the seaming flanges. It will be noted that the supporting bearing I5 is closely adjacent the extension l3 of the member l2 so that the chuck B has a firm support against lateral pressure closely adjacent to the point where the lateral pressure is applied.

After the seaming flanges 4 and 5 have been rolled into the double-lock seam, then the shaft in and chuck 6 are again retracted or lowered into the position shown in Fig. 2 so as to permit the can body to be removed from the chuck.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the invention as it might be applied to a crimping machine, which is a machine by which the lower end of the neck section and the upper end of the body section are connected by a crimping rather than a seaming operation. In this embodiment the body section of the can is shown at [6 and the neck section at I1, said sections having the overlapping portions l8, l9 which are to be crimped together. 20 indicates the chuck which is inserted into the body section and neck section from the bottom of the can and which forms a backing for the overlapping portions I 8, l9 where they are acted upon by the crimping roll 2|. In this embodiment also the chuck 20 has a recess M at its end adapted to receive the extension I3 of the bearing member I2 which is inserted into the recess through the opening 3 in the end of the neck section. The bearing member l2 thus steadies and supports the portion of the chuck member against which the lateral pressure is applied so that said chuck member will be prevented from lateral yielding movement due to such pressure. In this embodiment of the invention also there is no part of the steady rest or supporting hearing which engages the exterior of the neck of the can and thus there is nothing to mar or injure in any way the exterior surface of said neck section during the seaming operation. 7

While I have herein illustrated the invention as applied to a chuck designed to make a can having a conical neck section, yet the invention is equally applicable to the making of cans having neck sections of other shapes.

I claim:

1. A machine for uniting a body section of a can to a neck section having a discharge opening by seaming together mating seaming flanges on the body section and neck section respectively, said machine comprising a chuck member having a body portion to fit within the body section of the can and a neck portion to fit within the neck section, a supporting shaft secured to one end of the body portion and by which it is rotated, a rotary supporting bearing directly engaging the neck portion of the chuck member through the discharge opening of the neck section of the can, and a seaming wheel cooperating with the chuck to deform the mating flanges of the neck section and the body section by applying pressure thereto in a direction transversely to the axis of the chuck thereby seaming said flanges together, said rotary supporting bearing rotating with and steadying the neck portion of the chuck member and preventing yielding movement thereof in a radial direction due to the seam-forming operation.

2. A machine for uniting the body section of a can to a conical neck section which has a discharge opening by seaming together mating seaming flanges on the body section and neck section respectively, said machine comprising a rotary chuck member having a body portion to fit the body section of the can and a conical neck portion to fit the conical neck section of said can, said conical neck portion of the chuck having a recess in its smaller end in alignment with the discharge opening in the neck section of the can, a rotary shaft rigid with the body portion of the chuck member and by which it is rotated, a rotary supporting member having an end portion of a size to enter the opening in the neck section of the can and to fit the recess in the chuck, a bearing in which said supporting member is rotatably mounted, and a seaming roll cooperating with the chuck member to deform the mating seaming flanges of the neck section and body section by applying pressure thereto in a direction transverse to the axis of the chuck thereby to seam said flanges together, said supporting member providing a support for the conical neck portion of the chuck which prevents lateral deflection thereof during the seamforming operation.

HARRY SEBELL. 

